Best Better English Through Poetry Podcasts (2024)

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308: Build an Easy Careers Unit 6:57

2d ago6:57

6:57

This week let’s talk about careers. I don’t know if you can relate, but I graduated from high school with a general awareness of maybe six careers - law, medicine, teaching, ministry, science, and business. Let’s talk about how we can show our students a broader view of what’s out there - and build in some ELA skills to the process. A fun way to st…

1
307: Teaching African American Literature (The Elective Series) 20:17

4d ago20:17

20:17

Today on the show, we’ll find out what happened when an administrator attended a student’s genius hour project presentation about a new elective she wanted to see proposed Teaching African American Literature. Spoiler alert, magic. We’re continuing our elective series today, and I’m delighted to tell you we're hearing from passionate veteran teache…

1
Fontaines D.C, Luke Kelly and The Poetry Edit Competition 40:57

5d ago40:57

40:57

And the winner is.. On today’s episode, we reveal the winning poem for our competition in collaboration with The Poetry Edit. It’s been incredible to read the pieces that have been submitted, and we can’t wait to share all three finalist’s with you. As well as the competition, we talk about THAT interview between Jools Holland and Grian Chatten as …

1
306: Help! My Readers have such Different Skill Levels 5:57

9d ago5:57

5:57

On this week’s mini-episode, I want to answer a question sent in by a member of our community. Here’s what she writes: Hi Betsy, I have classes of 10th graders who are SO divergent in skill levels. Some are reading Murakami for fun, and some are reading at a 5th grade level. I am struggling to differentiate for them and provide challenge for the st…

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305: Teaching Dramatic Writing (The Elective Series Continues) 11:27

11d ago11:27

11:27

Today on the show we’re hearing from Valerie Boehm, who teaches a Dramatic Writing elective in Georgia as part of the state’s initiative to help more students find their way to good jobs in the film industry. So cool, right? This episode is part of our continuing series on electives, which has been SO MUCH fun to record. I hope you’re as excited to…

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The Poetry's Dead Podcast LIVE at Beyond The Pale 39:18

12d ago39:18

39:18

It was sunny. There were beers. But, most importantly, there were poems! We spent the weekend bumping between music tents and food vans down at Beyond The Pale Festival, hosted in 'The Garden Of Ireland' Glendalough, County Wicklow Amongst a backdrop of pretty landscapes were the two fellas, a microphone and their poems. We grabbed anyone we could …

1
Trailer: The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast 1:45

22d ago1:45

1:45

Join me each week for innovative teaching strategies you can use immediately in your ELA classroom, from choice reading help to book clubs, project-based-learning to AI, student podcasting to genius hour, we cover the good stuff. Whether you're trying to figure out how to engage your eighth graders, trying to help your 11th graders through the coll…

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W.H Davies, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Online Dating 45:15

27d ago45:15

45:15

This one is a little loose people, so get ready! Reason being: The sun was shining and we enjoyed a few garggles before going into the world of poetry this week, so if you fancy grabbing yourself a scoop before you listen, you'd be absolutely so welcome. Speaking of enjoying yourself, we start the show with the iconic 'stand and stare' line from th…

1
Pat Ingoldsby, Eavan Boland and The Irish Leaving Cert 42:46

1M ago42:46

42:46

The Poetry’s Dead Podcast x Leaving Cert Special! Well. Kind of. We couldn’t do a whole bloody show about it, that would be as dull as doing the actually exams. But! We’ve got a few leaving cert stories from Leon, poetry from Eavan Boland @eavanbolandpoetry (anyone over 22 that just got a shot of PTSD, don’t worry, you don’t have to do the leaving …

1
304: The Day my Students Questioned our Bleak Book Choices 4:48

1M ago4:48

4:48

On this week’s mini-episode, I’m remembering the moment my 11th graders asked me to please, please, please add a book to our curriculum that wasn’t so depressing. Maybe you’ve had a similar experience? Let’s talk about what to do when the curriculum is full of death and despair. We were moving towards spring the year my juniors asked me why all of …

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303: The End-of-Year Checklist for a Better August 10:26

1M ago10:26

10:26

Last night I dreamed I was teaching in a new classroom, except it had layers of stuff on the walls from three other teachers across twenty years of teaching. I couldn't find anything, and I couldn't change the set-up because I didn't know what was important to my colleagues. It was awful. Am I the only one to ever have a classroom set-up nightmare?…

1
Whitney Hanson, Kim Kardashian and Reality Television 46:36

1M ago46:36

46:36

Wake up slowly on this Bank Holiday Monday (here in Ireland) my child and allow us to soothe you back into life with another fun episode of The Poetry's Dead Podcast! We whizz around every conversational topic known to man on this one like two ADHD teenagers having their first pint, and we had a great time with it. Our patreon community's first fea…

1
302: Is this your Canva Summer?! 4:16

1M ago4:16

4:16

On this week’s mini-episode, let’s talk about my favorite online teacher tool, Canva. If you haven’t signed up for their free educator program yet, this summer is the perfect time! You can explore all the design tools this wonderful website has to offer, and be ready in the fall to start using it in class. Plus, I’ve got a free mini course ready to…

1
301: The Easiest Last Day in ELA 8:33

2M ago8:33

8:33

You want the last day of ELA to be special, but what does that mean exactly? And who has the energy to think up this special plan when you're juggling allll the end-of-year things? If you'd like a fast, easy solution to the last day of your ELA classes, today I'm proposing (ha ha, I just accidentally typed PROMposing) stations. Stations are an easy…

1
Kae Tempest, Sylvia Plath And Stag Parties 51:56

2M ago51:56

51:56

Oh we bloody missed you, and we hope a few of you missed us too! We're back with a bang or two as we share stories of stag parties, proposals and ask the question that everyone is asking. How depressing is it to be a poet? We talk about the magic of Kae Tempest, and the way she twists words around sound like nobody else. Sylvia Plath makes her debu…

1
300: Teaching Summer School? 2 Paths to a Happier July 4:51

2M ago4:51

4:51

On this week’s mini-episode, let’s talk summer school. Because I know that if you ARE teaching summer school, you’d like it to be engaging. Memorable. Creative. Superfantasticaliciousexpialadocious. But of course there’s the issue of you’re tired. And so are the students. And maybe they’re not that excited to be there. So let’s run through two quic…

1
299: 3 Years Overseas: The Highs & Lows (as we prepare to say goodbye) 17:49

2M ago17:49

17:49

As the sun rises a little earlier each day and the cherry trees in our neighborhood fill with fruit, our three years in Europe are coming to a close. With only a few weeks left of this European family adventure, I find myself thinking back over all that we've seen and done and learned. Highs like winter paddleboarding in Barcelona, nighttime tobaga…

1
298: This Shakespeare Podcast connects the Bard to Modern Life 5:22

2M ago5:22

5:22

Today I want to talk about a fantastic podcast for you to use in class if you teach Shakespeare. With dozens of intriguing episodes like "Shakespeare and Game of Thrones," "Shakespeare and YA Novels," and "Pop Sonnets," The Shakespeare Unlimited Podcast, by the Folger Shakespeare Library, is a great way to bring in modern connections and relevancy …

1
297: How to Squeeze Choice Reading into ELA (even if it feels impossible) 10:29

2M ago10:29

10:29

Choice reading can sometimes feel like an out-of-reach dream. I recently heard from a busy teacher who wrote, "I love choice reading, but squeezing it in can be tough!" Yeah, I get that. There's so much going on in ELA. In today's episode, we're talking about how to squeeze more choice reading moments into your busy schedule. Even if you don't have…

1
Oscar Wilde, Dylan Thomas And Taylor Swift 44:43

2M ago44:43

44:43

We are finally showing just how basic we both are with this latest episode guys, so be warned! We've been putting Oscar WIlde on the back burner since the show launched, but today's the day we give him a proper segment with a journey around his one-liners, plays, fictional works and poetry. A little moan about Dylan Thomas being a bit 'up himself' …

1
296: My Favorite Final Exam (I mean, not that I don’t love Multiple Choice) 5:04

2M ago5:04

5:04

Today I want to talk final exams, and specifically, one I’ve really enjoyed giving when I had the leeway to skip the sit-down exam. If you don’t have to involve any Scantron sheets in your final, you might love it too, so let’s dive in. Maybe you’ve seen some of the great graduation speeches floating around the internet - maybe you even analyze som…

1
295: Revision Frustration? Try This. 11:56

2M ago11:56

11:56

Do your students think of the revision process as a combo of spellcheck and Grammarly? Tend to peer edit by scrawling a compliment and circling two sentences that are missing periods? Yeah, they're not alone. Honestly, I didn't really get the revision process as a student either. It sort of felt like I wrote the paper I was going to turn it in, the…

1
Pam Ayres, Charity Shop Books And Staying On The Right Path 47:03

2M ago47:03

47:03

This. One. Was. Fun We parade around the fun and freeing mind of Pam Ayres, as she gives us a lovely spring in our steps with her warm and giggly poetry. We share some tips on getting back into reading, and our love of spending time in charity shops and picking up a book for a euro. David Hynes comes in with his Perfectly Polished Poem flooded with…

1
294: Crying in the Dusty Stairwell (on Hitting a Wall in Teaching) 7:33

2M ago7:33

7:33

Today I want to talk about a subject I’m sure you’ve thought a lot about - how much are you willing to do for your job? And what do you do when you’ve hit your wall? I want to start by taking you to the dusty steps of the duplex I shared during my first year of teaching. It’s dusk, and I’m crying. I recently won the award for excellence in new teac…

1
293: Creative Exam Review Activities for ELA (that don't involve a packet) 9:57

2M ago9:57

9:57

With exam season coming up, you're probably looking for some creative ELA review activities. Whether your school requires that students sit a traditional exam, or you have room for something like the graduation speech final or another type of final project, it's helpful to look back over the big concepts, themes, and texts you've covered as the yea…

1
Seamus Heaney, Carol Ann Duffy And Skipping Meals By Accident 41:45

3M ago41:45

41:45

Another episode with the lads yapping on about poems just for your enjoyment! This one, we challenge some preconceptions that can sit in front of poets by talking about the whole Poet Laurete role and share some of Carol Ann Duffy's work. We delve into the muddy fields of Seamus Heaney next, one of Ireland's most celebrate modern poets of our time.…

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292: Try the Sesame Street Quiz (5 Different Ways) 4:29

3M ago4:29

4:29

Today, I want to highlight a useful tool Amanda Cardenas shared earlier this year on the show called The Sesame Street Quiz. It’s so versatile, so fun, and so helpful that I feel it deserves a show of its own, so here we go. Amanda has already shared with us how these work, back in episode 267. Here’s a quick review: A Sesame Street Quiz gives stud…

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291: When Genius Hour WORKS (The Elective Series) 29:14

3M ago29:14

29:14

Have you ever wished you could get students excited about genius hour, then immediately wondered what you’d do if half of them couldn’t think of a topic? Well, today on the podcast, creative teacher Melissa Moser is here to talk about one of her favorite electives to teach - Genius Hour, and exactly how she sets students up for success - even the o…

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Emily Dickinson, Harry Baker And A Tribute To Paddy Downey 41:18

3M ago41:18

41:18

A special PACKED episode for you after a short break which we are very excited to share. We pay tribute to our own Paddy Downey, who not only created the logo for our show, but was also a poet himself. We heard the incredibly sad news that Paddy had passed a few weeks ago, so we asked his daughter Lisa (who is the voice of our show's intro) to come…

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290: Try this Hack to Teach Varied Sentence Structure 5:00

3M ago5:00

5:00

Welcome to the Thursday edition of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast, a podcast for English teachers in search of creative teaching strategies. Whether you’re new to the show or a long-time listener, I’m so glad you’re here for this week’s mini episode. Today, I want to share a fun visual trick for helping students vary their sentence structure.…

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289: How to Launch Book Talk Podcasts in Class 10:00

3M ago10:00

10:00

Book talk podcasts can provide gentle choice reading accountability, target presentation of knowledge and speaking skills, and build a library of book recommendations for future students. Not bad, right? Today on the podcast I'm going to walk you through how to launch a book talk podcast with your students, and why it will be fantastic. Example Scr…

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288: A Lesser-Known Amanda Gorman Gem 5:07

3M ago5:07

5:07

Welcome to the Thursday edition of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast, a podcast for English teachers in search of creative teaching strategies. Whether you’re new to the show or a long-time listener, I’m so glad you’re here for this week’s mini episode. Today, as earth day inches closer, I want to share a favorite find, Amanda Gorman’s video poe…

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277: How Erica Used the AI PBL Project to give her Students Voice 28:40

3M ago28:40

28:40

It’s never a bad thing when your classroom innovation lands you at a press conference with your state’s department of education! That’s what happened to today’s guest, Erica Kempf. She decided to try out the project-based-learning unit I designed about the ethical use of artificial intelligence, and along the way she and her students made it their …

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276: Let All Books Count: A Tale of Two Kids 3:36

3M ago3:36

3:36

Welcome to the Thursday edition of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast, a podcast for English teachers in search of creative teaching strategies. Whether you’re new to the show or a long-time listener, I’m so glad you’re here for this week’s mini episode. Today, I want to talk about a much-debated subject - when it comes to choice reading, what co…

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275: Teaching SciFi & Fantasy (The Elective Series continues) 13:26

3M ago13:26

13:26

We’re about to dive into an elective that combines Beowulf, The Hobbit, Ursula Leguin, graphic novels, and contemporary YA! What holds all these threads together? That’s what repeat guest and creative teacher Caitlin Lore is about to tell you as we continue our series on creative electives across the country. Get ready for the big reveal in just a …

1
Edgar Allen Poe, Benjamin Zephaniah and Parenting 33:30

3M ago33:30

33:30

Happy Easter Everyone! Not that we are going to church or anything, but we have a few days off the rat-race so thank you Jesus and all that were involved for such a gift! As we mumble through eating our chocolate eggs, we have a ton of lovely stuff on this week's episode. We tribute the late Benjamin Zephaniah and his work to help those impacted by…

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274: Using Students’ Love of Youtube to our ELA Advantage 3:02

4M ago3:02

3:02

Welcome to the Thursday edition of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast, a podcast for English teachers in search of creative teaching strategies. Whether you’re new to the show or a long-time listener, I’m so glad you’re here for this week’s mini episode. Today, I want to talk about Youtube, and how we can use students’ love for it to our ELA adva…

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273: First Chapter Friday: Nancy Tandon Reads 7:15

4M ago7:15

7:15

Welcome to the author spotlight series at Spark Creativity. In this series, you’ll hear from authors sharing their work directly into your classroom. So sit back and listen in. Today we’re hearing from Nancy Tandon, reading from her book, The Way I Say It. Nancy has worked as an elementary school teacher, a speech-language pathologist, and an adjun…

1
Brendan Behan, Jan Brierton And James Joyce's Obsession With Farts 34:13

4M ago34:13

34:13

Well, well! It was a long week after St Patrick's Day weekend ladies and gentlemen, but we have climbed out of our beds finally to bring you a fresh new episode This week, Leon delivers on his promise of blowing Ryan's mind with a James Joyce love letter. Just...wow. We climb into the world of Brendan Behan for a little bit before we talk about Jan…

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272: You Need to Know about this Short Story 6:20

4M ago6:20

6:20

Welcome to the Thursday edition of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast, a podcast for English teachers in search of creative teaching strategies. Whether you’re new to the show or a long-time listener, I’m so glad you’re here for today’s edition of “Highly Recommended.” Today, let’s talk Ken Liu’s short story, “The Paper Menagerie,” one of the bes…

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271: #Bookface is Well Worth a Look 9:49

4M ago9:49

9:49

You know how we feel here at Spark Creativity about Book PR. Basically it's the best. We're all about bookish posters, displays, podcasts, guest readers, First Chapter Fridays, book trailer Tuesdays, and book tastings. If it helps kids get excited about books, we're all in! Recently I saw a lovely post over in my Creative High School English Facebo…

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St Patrick's Day Special - WB Yeats, Imelda May and Irishness 32:24

4M ago32:24

32:24

Get it up ya, lads! It's our St Patrick's Day special, bringing you all the soothing poetic sounds you're going to need after drowning yourself in stout and singing 'Wild Rover' at least 16 times across the weekend festivities. Leon kicks us off with the story of Luke Kelly and Patrick Kavanagh's meet which gave us the song Raglan Road We head back…

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270: Try a March Madness Poetry Bracket 5:14

4M ago5:14

5:14

Today, let’s talk about March Madness, and how to harness all that awesome enthusiasm to get your students excited about poetry. Last year I worked with Melissa Alter Smith from #teachlivingpoets to create a March Madness bracket for The Lighthouse, and I learned a lot from her in the process! This is such a fun and easy way to bring more voices in…

1
269: Teaching Research to Digital Natives 9:55

4M ago9:55

9:55

Remember when research projects involved stacks of books and notecards? Yeah, me too. But we all know research has changed. I recently finished a couple of pedagogy books for English teachers - one by Angela Stockman on designing inclusive spaces for writers, and another by Katie Novak on Universal Design for Learning in the English classroom. And …

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John Cooper Clarke, The Late Ann Delaney and Staying Happy 32:15

4M ago32:15

32:15

Episode 2. We've had an incredible first date and now we choose to go on that hike... Uh oh. In our second episode we gush over 'The Bard of Salford' Dr John Cooper Clarke as well as wind it way back to one of the lesser known Irish poets from yesteryear, James Clarence Mangan We then tribute the late Ann Delaney, the former nurse who was living ho…

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268: Try These Google Translate Tools in Class 2:55

4M ago2:55

2:55

Welcome to the Thursday edition of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast, a podcast for English teachers in search of creative teaching strategies. Whether you’re new to the show or a long-time listener, I’m so glad you’re here for today’s edition of “Highly Recommended.” This week, I want to make sure you know just how amazing the Google Translate …

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267: So your Students aren't Doing the Reading? Here's Help. 36:10

4M ago36:10

36:10

Today on the podcast, we’re sitting down with Amanda Cardenas to talk about a very big question. A huge question, really. What can teachers do when students aren’t doing the reading? And is reading out loud the majority of our texts the answer? Spoiler alert, we both can completely understand how this would seem like the answer, but in the long run…

1
Maya Angelou, Seán Watmore and STI's 28:38

4M ago28:38

28:38

The teasing is over. The flirting is done. Time to grab the coats and hail down a cab. Welcome to the first full episode of The Poetry's Dead Podcast. In episode one, we kick things off by sharing our thoughts and love for two of the greats, Maya Angelou and Charles Bukowski. We had to have the big cynic in episode one. We then share a piece from I…

1
266: Summer PD that Delivers 6:11

5M ago6:11

6:11

Welcome to the Thursday edition of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast, a podcast for English teachers in search of creative teaching strategies. Whether you’re new to the show or a long-time listener, I’m so glad you’re here for today’s edition of “Highly Recommended.” This week, let’s talk about some of the best summer PD options out there. Firs…

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Welcome to The Poetry's Dead Podcast with Ryan Duggins and Leon Dunne 11:39

5M ago11:39

11:39

A warm welcome to the introduction episode of The Poetry's Dead Podcast with Dublin poets Ryan Duggins and Leon Dunne. You are very welcome indeed to our cool corner of spoken word and poetry hidden at the back of the pub where the locals aren't interested in joining in. Join Ryan and Leon on a short exploration into how poetry became such a big bl…

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Better English Through Poetry Podcasts

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